Quiz: Howstuffworks

Are You a True Firearms Expert?

About This Quiz

So many guns, so little time. Think you have what it takes to be a firearms expert? Take a shot at this quiz and see if you have what it takes to go the distance!

Which firearm became especially popular with Prohibition-era gangsters?

Henry rifle

AK-47 assault rifle

Thompson submachine gun

What do you call the spiral grooves cut into the bore of a gun?

Rifling

Breech

Buttstock

A dedicated sniper would most likely use which type of a firearm?

Automatic machine gun

Bolt-action rifle

Semi-automatic rifle

What is James Bond's pistol manufacturer of choice?

Walther

Remington

Colt

Which submachine gun is nicknamed the Chicago Typewriter?

The Heckler & Koch MP5

The Colt 9mm SMG

The Thompson submachine gun

Where was the first gunpowder weapon developed?

China

Mexico

Persia

Which weapon was known as the Peacemaker?

Colt M1873

Smith & Wesson Model 10

Springfield Model 1855 rifle-musket

Which pistol did John Browning design to accept the .45-caliber cartridge, which was developed first in 1904?

Beretta 92F

Colt M1911

Glock 17

Which weapon was hailed by Gen. Patton as "the greatest battle implement ever devised?"

AK-47

M1 Garand

Spencer carbine

Which 9 mm submachine gun was developed for the Israeli army?

IMI Uzi

MP38

Sten Mk II

Which is the most popular weapon on the planet, with more than 75 million made since the 1940s?

AK-47

M16

StG 44

Which firearm can rightfully be called the first assault rifle?

AK-47

Heckler & Koch G3

Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44)

What does the "AR" stand for in the popular AR-15 civilian rifle?

ArmaLite rifle

Advanced recoil

Assault rifle

Which conflict saw the first widespread use of the M16 assault rifle?

Civil War

Korean War

Vietnam War

When someone thinks "shotgun," which is the firearm the person most likely imagines?

Franchi SPAS 12

Remington M870

Pancor Jackhammer

If you were an 18th-century coachman, which weapon would you likely carry to repel highway bandits?

Blunderbuss

Gatling gun

Tommy gun

Which handgun did Dirty Harry make famous?

Colt Detective Special

Walther PPK

Smith & Wesson M29

Which self-loading pistol established the parabellum round as the world standard?

Luger

Colt M1911

Beretta Model 1934

Which of the following best describes the sequence of events that occur when the trigger of a semi-automatic weapon is pulled?

Fire

Fire - eject - load

Fire - eject - load - fire

Which firearm, used during the Civil War, fired the .58-caliber Minié bullet?

Dreyse needle gun

LeMat Grapeshot Revolver

Springfield Model 1855 rifle-musket

Which semi-automatic weapon with a large-capacity magazine became infamous after appearing in surveillance footage of the Columbine massacre?

Ingram MAC10

Intratec TEC-DC9

Mat-49

What famous firearm was found propped against a tree in Nevada in 2015?

A Colt Peacemaker

An M2 Browning

A Winchester Model 1873

Which weapon did the Australian Army use to fight against emus?

A Lewis gun

A Gatling gun

Hand cannons

Which was the first gun made mostly from plastic?

Colt Detective Special

Glock 17

Heckler & Koch VP70

Which of these innovations did Samuel Colt bring to the world of weapons production?

He invented the revolver.

He used an assembly line rather than individual gunsmiths.

He invented the safety catch.

If you lived in 13th-century China, your weapon of choice was probably:

A hand cannon

A mortar

A falconet

Those pistols at dawn were probably:

Flintlock

Percussion cap

Matchlock

An 1835 attempt to assassinate President Andrew Jackson with two derringers failed because:

The assassin couldn't get them through the metal detector.

The assassin had forgotten to load them.

The pistols didn't fire.

Speaking of Davy Crockett, what kind of weapon was named after him in the 1950s?

A .950-caliber fully-automatic rifle

A recoilless nuclear rifle

A shoulder-firing missile launcher

A 1975 attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford with a Colt .45 failed because:

The assassin hadn't chambered a bullet.

The assassin had forgotten to load it.

The firing pin was defective.

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